Is The GOP DOA?

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

I have long questioned how the Republican Party could have fallen so low that they licked the boots of the worst president in our history, how they could tolerate the likes of Mitch McConnell who point blank refuses to do anything that would be in the best interest of the people of this nation … you know, the ones who pay his salary.  For the past year or so, with republicans seemingly tied by invisible bonds to Trump even at his worst, I’ve thought that the GOP must surely be dooming itself.  Do you remember what GOP stood for back in the early days?  ‘Grand Old Party’ … today, there isn’t a damn thing ‘grand’ about them … the party has become one of big business and wealth, to the exclusion of ALL else, even our lives.

Bill Press has written a column that echoes my own thoughts about the future of the GOP – that it has none, that it has, basically flushed its reputation and future down the toilet.  Take a minute to read his column … let me know what you think.

Forget The Republican Party: It’s Dead

bill-press
By Bill Press

No institution lasts forever. They get too old, too big, too tired. Eventually, they outlive their usefulness and forget their original purpose. When that happens, the best thing you can do for them is pull the plug.

It’s time to pull the plug on the Republican Party. Because, let’s face it, the Republican Party we once knew — a credible political force that offered Americans a real alternative in the form of smaller government, lower taxes, and tighter fiscal policy — no longer exists.

Most readers of this column grew up, as I did, when Republicans were not the enemy. They were just friends and family we sometimes disagreed with. Take it from me. I’m a lifelong, yellow-dog Democrat, but my grandfather and father were both Republican mayors of our small town in Delaware. My brother David was the Republican energy adviser to the Republican Governor Pete DuPont of Delaware. I went on to become chief of staff to California Republican State Senator Peter Behr, whose major environmental legislation, the “Wild Rivers Bill,” was signed by Republican Governor Ronald Reagan.

At the national level, Republicans Bill Ruckelshaus and Russ Peterson were two of the earliest leaders of the conservation movement. Dwight Eisenhower established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But that Republican Party exists no more. Today’s Republican Party’s nothing but a cult. And, worse yet, a cult devoted to slavish worship of one of the most loathsome, disgusting, revolting creatures ever to walk on the world stage. There’s no Republican Party today, there’s only the Trump Party. It’s no longer (if it ever was) the party of Lincoln, it’s the party of Trump. Its slogan is no longer GOP, or “Grand Old Party,” but TUA, or “Trump Uber Alles.”

Many credit Donald Trump for taking over the Republican Party. They’re wrong. Trump didn’t take over the Republican Party. Starting with Newt Gingrich, Republicans paved the way for Trump: encouraging nonstop political warfare, rejecting bipartisan cooperation, embracing the most-extreme elements of the party — remember the “Tea Party?” — while ignoring their racist, white-supremacist roots. All they needed was for someone to come along and dare to say out loud what they secretly believed.

Enter Donald Trump: exactly what they were looking for. An outright racist. A man who didn’t really believe in governing, and would spend no time at it. An outsider whose goal was to tear things down, not get things done. A Napoleonic monster who viewed the presidency like dictatorships he loved around the world, where he, like Putin, Erdogan, or Kim Jung Un, could operate above the law.

And what did leaders of the old Republican Party do? They not only rolled over and totally surrendered to Trump, they continued to defend him as he trashed everything that they once, supposedly, believed in. They stood by Trump when he bragged about grabbing women by their genitals and paid a porn star $130,000 in hush money. They stood by Trump when he locked little children in cages and grabbed infants off the breasts of their mothers. They didn’t make a peep when Trump increased the national debt (which he had promised to eliminate) by $7 trillion.

Worse yet, in the face of the worst world public health crisis in our lifetime, Republicans stood by Trump as he downplayed the coronavirus pandemic, encouraged people to ignore advice of the CDC, staged his own superspreader events, and cavalierly ignored the deaths of almost 280,000 Americans so far.

And today they stand by Trump as he attacks the very core of our democracy: the sanctity of our right to vote and elect our own leaders. By refusing to accept the results of the election, attacking state election officials, filing frivolous lawsuits, and claiming our entire election process is rigged, Trump is attacking America. And he only gets away with it because today’s Republican leaders — Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and all the rest, cowards all — let him get away with it. History will not treat Donald Trump kindly, but it will be even more critical of his spineless enablers.

The Republican Party we once knew is dead, and it’s not coming back. Better to replace it with a new party that believes in America. Until then, I stand with H. L. Mencken: “In this world of sin and sorrow, there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.

40 thoughts on “Is The GOP DOA?”

    • Is that the only criteria by which you judge a leader? He has done far more damage than our participation in a war would have. He has divided us more than at any time since the Civil War. He has encouraged racism and other forms of bigotry, denigrated women, denigrated Muslims, Mexicans, and Blacks. He has reversed environmental regulations that were essential to preserving life on this planet. And I could go on … and on … and on. No, he didn’t ‘keep us out of war’, it just so happened we aren’t in a war, but really, no thanks to him, for he taunted North Korea and Iran and brought us nearly to the brink of war. No leader can be judged on a single criteria … you have to look at the whole picture.

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  2. I agree with him and with you. Almost a century later, another famous Mencken quote has been proven correct but, sadly, the moron is rather more a dangerous, raving lunatic.

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      • That, sadly, is his only achievement: dividing the nation and empowering the racists and morons, by creating a culture of lies and mistrust. Biden really does have a big task on his hands, but hopefully Trump will be debarred from running again after one – or many – criminal convictions.

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        • Yes, he has successfully divided the nation even more than it was, has shredded the ‘norms’ that we expect from our government, and has broken so many laws that I’ve lost count. I hope … fingers crossed … that he will be charged and convicted on countless crimes, but word on the street is that he is planning to issue himself a preemptive pardon … who ever heard of such a thing????????

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            • I fully agree with you … a preemptive pardon indicates he knows of some crime(s) they have committed and just in case someone like the District Attorney should happen to find out, he pardons them now, while he still has that pardon pen. I don’t think he should be able to do that, but there is a precedent, so likely he will. The good news is he cannot pardon state crimes, and the state of New York is going after both him and some family members for their fraudulent “charity”. Sigh … what a nasty bunch they are.

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              • To those of us not in your country that seems a weird, undemocratic custom. Why should one person be able to do that? Criminals should be subject to the law and the consequences of breaking it. Hopefully NY will bring them down.

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                • Even in this country it seems a very strange thing. And you wonder … where is the line? So, if Ivanka goes out and kills somebody next year, would that preemptive pardon keep her safe from prosecution? Presidential pardons are one of the things that I frankly see very little use for, and they have been abused throughout the years. At the very least, there should be a non-partisan review board that has the final say on all pardons.

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                  • A good idea, but how would anyone find a partisan review board after Trump has polarised US politics? All politics needs its checks and balances and the pardon system operates without one. I’d hope that, in the scenario you describe, common sense would prevail, but as her Daddy thinks he could get away with doing that there’s no guarantee, is there?

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                    • That is the $64 million question! There are some who are moderate, neither completely liberal or conservative, but they are few and far between. Thus far, Trump & Co have seemed to be invincible, but surely at some point even his sycophants say “ENOUGH!” At least, I hope so. And I really hope he is not allowed to give himself a preemptive pardon … that would be unprecedented and should remain so. But no, there are no guarantees. I’ve learned that where Trump is concerned, things we once thought impossible suddenly seem to be quite possible. Sigh.

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                    • Just a thought, but if a President has the power to issue a pardon, might they also have the power to rescind one? As I type that, it sounds odd, but hopefully there is a ruling somewhere in the mists of time which would give Biden that power – assuming Trump does issue them as is being suggested.

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                    • I did a bit of research, and the only time a pardon has been reversed was by the same president who issued the pardon (George W. Bush) and was reversed the very next day, before the pardonee had even been notified. It would be a matter, I think, that the Supreme Court would have to take up and that might not end well.

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                    • Given the way he has packed it, and his pronouncement today that he expects Amy Coney Barrett to support him, I fear you could be right. This isn’t democracy – it’s autocracy.

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                    • It is, indeed, autocracy. I blame the Senate republicans who could have stopped the misery in February by convicting him of the impeachment charges and removing him from office, but they were so cowardly they wouldn’t even look at the evidence, but just dismissed the charges unseen. I truly dread these next 42 days, as violence is simmering just barely under the surface, and Trump & his cronies are pouring fuel on the fire.

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                    • I fear you could be right. He isn’t far away from a coup to overturn the election result. I’m not an advocate for violence but in his case I’d be prepared to make an exception, if that was the only way to stop him.

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                    • I don’t think his coup will work (remind me I said that, if it turns out I’m wrong), but the damage this chaos is doing will take decades to repair. Like you, I am a pacifist, but these days I am more than willing to make an exception. It may well be the only way to stop him, but … it would also set off a string of things that I don’t even want to ponder. Sigh.

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                    • I hope so, too, but I agree that the damage he has caused will have long term effects even if he doesn’t succeed. I’ve read that there’s a possibility he might go to Florida for Christmas and just stay there – we can but hope!

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                    • Oh yes … I would even pay part of his trip to Florida if he would promise never to come back! My hope is that once he’s out of office, the media will act responsibly and refuse to cover his every move, to record and dissect his every tweet. We need to put him behind us.

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                    • It would probably be the best fundraiser ever associated with him! My hope is that the media will content themselves with recording his criminal trials. With a bit of luck Twitter will remove his account on 20 Jan, for multiple violations.

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                    • Dorsey has said he may consider removing Trump’s account … I hope he does!!! That seems to be the only way the ‘man’ knows how to communicate! Sigh. I just want him gone … forever … but it’s not likely I’ll get my wish.

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                    • Yes, much to his anger, they now place warnings and alerts on his untruthful statements, but I still think they should remove his false posts. I was banned from Twitter not long ago for calling one of the female Fox persona a ‘bimbo’ … it earned me a 3-day suspension, and I wore it as a badge of honour! 😉 Told you I was stubborn!

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  3. As far as I am concerned, conservative parties around the world (read Populist/Fascist/Nazi parties) are mentally dead, but their bodies continue on life support from the mentally and spiritually dead things that prop them up.
    I have of late been comparing the GOP to Neitzsche’s statement of 1882, God Is dead, my condolences to all those who still believe in such a being. The GOP is dead, it will just take a while before everyone realizes it. Abragamic religions have 2000 years of history to keep them on life support. The Republicans will not last as long. They are but children compared to biblical religions.
    But, (enter swear words of your choice here!), why are there so many brain-dead people willing to keep the GOP alive? That is what worries me, and has for some time. You know the kinds of predictions I am making for the human race, the ones most people are not ready for yet, but I thought would only take a few more centuries. Well, I’m now very afraid those centuries might become millennia. I can’t see it, based on the changes we have witnessed in our own lifetimes, but I was blind to the stubbornness of those who are supporting Populist regimes all over the world. I am reminded of that old adage, attributable to I have no idea whom, The more things change, the more they stay the same.
    The human race is disappointing me to no end. We were evolving spiritually so nicely, I thought, but my mind could not fathom how stuck in the past half the people in the world suddenly seem to be. I knew there were some Flat Earthers around, but this many? I had no idea.
    Yet in a very convoluted way, there is hope coming from Covid-19. Many of this non-evolvers are signing their own death warrants by refusing to wear masks or social distance. They are being hoist by their own petards (they will never understand the reference!). Good riddance to them. (There, I said it, but I wish I didn’t have to…) Maybe, just maybe, Covid will make them all sterile….

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    • As to your question about why there are so many people willing to keep the GOP alive, willing to trade relative freedom for a dictatorship, I wish I had an answer. That is the question … one of ’em, anyway … that keeps me awake nights. But … I think your prediction about the human species is off … I think the human species is on a collision course with destiny and will extinct itself, if not by the end of this century, then shortly thereafter. Those ‘non-evolvers’ signing their own death warrants are, unfortunately, signing ours too. Sigh.

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          • No, humans as we ores entry know them do not deserve it survive en masse. Certainly, though, there are some individual humans who do deserve to survive, and proliferate, but I refuse to speculate on who those humans might be, as everyone’s criteria to qualify will differ. I would vote for you, minus your tobacco habit, lol.

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            • ores entry? Why the hell does Spelchek hate me so much? I read over my comments, make sure they are grammatically okay, then hit send. But what gets printed us just not what I wrote. Ores entry started out as humans as we presently know them do not deserve to survive, but how many readers will translate that properly.
              I found a way on my last tablet to turn off Spelchek, but I cannot find a way on this one yet. It is insane!

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            • You are so right … there are some admirable people who work tirelessly to try to make the world a better place, and to condemn them to death along with the other sort is, as my mother used to say, like ‘throwing out the baby with the bathwater’. And yes, everyone would have a different selection criteria, so it would simply never work. Awwww … thank you! You’ve made me smile. 😊

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  4. Jill, it was officially buried at the convention, when no platform was passed. It had been already, but became the Trump Party – the party of conspiracies to win – at that time. What will rise out of the ashes will take time, as this person will not go away, because of the spell he has over his flock. Even still, there is a majority of the Trump Party who believe the election was stolen. And, Putin smiled. Keith

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    • Yes, it was. I fear those ashes are toxic and should be left underground, while a whole new party is established, eschewing the greed and corruption of what was once the GOP. Yes, it’s true that those who elevated him, who continue to sing his praises, will not go away and my fear is they will find someone more intelligent, more ‘acceptable’ to do their dirty work next time. Sigh. Yep, Putin and others are no doubt seeing their window of opportunity.

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